Capizov smashes the bank in Minnesota!

Minnesota Wild finally beat forward Kirill Kaprizov on Tuesday.

The 24-year-old Russian player has agreed to sign a five-year contract worth $45 million. So he will get an average of $9 million a year.

This means that Kaprizov becomes Wild’s highest-paid employee, ahead of defender – and commander – Jared Spurgeon ($7.575 million per year). According to The Athletic, the Novokuznetsk-born skater will arrive in Minnesota on Wednesday, where he is expected to attend an in-person press conference, if fully vaccinated, along with general manager Bill Guerin.

In his first season in the National Hockey League, in 2020-2021, he collected 51 points, including 27 goals, in 55 games, which earned him the Calder Award for Best Rookie. He added two goals and one assist in seven playoffs.

Wilde’s fifth-round pick (135th overall) in the 2015 NHL Draft, Kaprizov played six seasons in his home Continental League before beginning his North American journey.

Kaprizov has been one of the few free agents to be compensated throughout the National League, as training camps for each team are about to begin. Seven skaters remain in this position, including striker Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa Senators), defender Rasmus Dahlin (Buffalo Sabers), as well as Elias Peterson and Quinn Hughes (Vancouver Canucks).